Neck Pain and Cervical Spine Hinging

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Movement Fix Monday | Week 12 | Neck Pain and Cervical Spine Hinging

Anytime we move a part of the spine, we want to have movement distributed over multiple joints, not just one or two joints. Things that hurt typically are things that are moving too much. A lot of times in neck pain, people develop a hinge point in the middle of their neck that moves too much (often times the site of pain).

One of the things that needs to be looked at is whether or not all of the joints are contributing to the overall global movement. As you can see in this first picture, the head bends to the side and there is a smooth curve throughout the neck.

In this second image, you can see that when the person bends their head to the side, they have a hinge point that occurs more locally at just one or two joints. This hinging at one segment can lead to an overuse injury over time.

Make sure to check out the video for more info and a live demo of what this looks like.

If you have neck pain, get evaluated by a professional. Not all neck pain is caused by this. This is just one example.

I was super excited to see this video. I see this all the time in my practice and try to teach people how not to hinge through the mid cervical joints. Also its good to remember as practitioners to not create or add to the hyper mobility by adjusting the joints that are already hyper mobile. Keep up the good videos, I look forward to watching them every Monday.

Great! This is cool...However, if we are also experiencing neck pain and cervical spine hinging, I suggest that you should also see your nearest Physical Therapist and don't assume that if you feel sudden pain particularly on your back is just alright.

Great! This is cool...However, if we are also experiencing neck pain and cervical spine hinging, I suggest that you should also see your nearest Physical Therapist and don't assume that if you feel sudden pain particularly on your back is just alright.